The Adventures of Babysitting
by Sincerely Yours- C.M.D
Summary: Somehow, Leozack managed to do something to himself -something, for the time being, irrevocable. And suddenly Hellbat's stuck paying the price. Mech/Mech, fluff, slight angst
1. Chapter 1

**C.M.D: ...what can I say? I'm really hooked to the ideas of sparklings right now, and fluff, and angst, and just teeth-sucking cuteness. And really, who could resist messing with Leozack and watching Hellbat react afterwards? XD**  
**Originally posted July 14, 2012 on here.**

* * *

It was silent in the throne room, following Hellbat's scream.

Glancing away from the terminal for a moment, Drillhorn shook his helm, before turning back to the equations and formulae scrolling down the screens, trying to make sense of the data. On his throne, Deathsaurus sat, looking down at his subordinates with an almost bored expression. He had not been phased by the spy's ghastly scream of horror. Though the wriggling being he held under one servo had certainly been caught off-guard by the cry.

"B-b-b-b-but..."

"Hellbat," Deathsaurus began exasperatedly.

"He -no, he's-"

"Hellbat..."

Jallguar and Guyhawk shared a quick look with each other as their fellow breastforce member began to keen.

"Quit your blubbering!," the dragon-former snapped, having grown tired of waiting for Hellbat to shut up and calm down so he could continue speaking. Immediately, the spy bit his glossa and snapped his flailing arms to his chestplates, the barest trace of a whimper escaping him last. "As I was saying," Deathsaurus continued gruffly, his glare daring anyone to interrupt him, "It seems our lovely lieutenant commander was playing with some dangerous and very secret toys in his room. His latest experiment seems to have blown up in his face though... and now, we're left with a predicament. What to do with Leozack while we attempt to fix this recent problem."

The fore-mentioned mech -now a small, dainty youngling- glared out from under the Destron commander's servo, his arms crossed over his chestplates angrily and his lower lip stuck out in an adorable, sulking manner. If Hellbat wasn't so freaked out by the turn of events, he'd almost be hard-pressed not to coo at the cute sight.

"B-but, umm...," the spy mumbled, trying to look anywhere but at the down-sized teal jet. He twirled his fingers anxiously, feeling more and more uncomfortable and confused as the astroseconds passed. "W-what, er... w-what do w-we, uh..."

The scowl on Deathsaurus' face began to retract, twisting upward in a mean smirk. "Obviously, our lieutenant commander is out of commission until such a time we can find a way to reverse his experiment's effects... He is unsuited for combat, research or anything else for that matter. My ship is not made for sparklings, and henceforth, this one can't be running around unintended."

It was silent for a moment.

Deathsaurus frowned, realizing that Hellbat had yet to catch onto what he was saying. "You are going to be watching this brat," he informed flatly, shoving Leozack forward roughly.

The youngling tripped, cursed, before straightening up, his wings twitching in his ire. "I don't want to go with him! He's weird," Leozack whined, in a young, almost innocent high-pitch tone. "And I'm not a brat!"

"You'll keep an optic on him at all times," the dragon-former went on, as if the young mech hadn't said a word, "Entertain him; feed him; keep him out of trouble... I don't want any more incidents to come about because of this self-made disaster."

Hellbat, if anything, got weirder as Leozack was again shoved forward, the little Destron tripping over his pedes as he stumbled down the podium's steps and into the other jet's legs. Flailing, the mech first helped the youngling upright, before quickly backing up a step; servos twisting together nervously again as he twisted his helm around, emitting soft, tiny anxious clicks from his vocalizer. Killbison started to laugh, about to say something, before he was quickly elbowed by Guyhawk. Drillhorn ignored everything going on behind him (as usual) and Jallguar seemed apparently uncomfortable as well -though for what reasons, no one could be really sure.

Scowling, Leozack turned his helm up and narrowed his optics further at the strange Destron. Hellbat quickly took another step back.

Grinning, Deathsaurus rose from his seat, stepping down the podium and towards his soldiers. "He's all yours now, Hellbat," he said, passing by the spy. He slowed down, leaning into the smaller mech, whispering into his audio, "Have fun."

"The rest of you!," the Destron commander snapped, moving on, "We have a very important mission to proceed with. One member short or not, I demand the absolutely best results. If you fail this, you can all starve. No victory; no energon."

Sweeping out of the room, minions in tow, Hellbat and the young (and also oblivious) Leozack were left alone -one still fidgeting like a caged pigeon and the other pouting up a storm. Finally...

"So what are we going to do? I'm bored!"

Flinching, the blue Destron started to laugh uneasily, still shuffling backwards to the youngling's chagrin. "I...I, um," Hellbat stuttered. "M-maybe, urh, should w-we, umm..."

Leozack's lower lip jutted out more, and the jet quickly turned away, his wings shivering as he fought to work down his blush. He literally squeaked when next he felt a harsh tug on his wing, helm snapping back to see the teal jet glowering up at him, fingers curled tightly around the appendage. "What? You're going to ignore me now too? I may not know where I am, but I refuse to be-"

Hellbat watched as the youngling crossed his arms over his chestplates again, stamping his pede angrily, in a fashion so similar to his old self that for a moment, the spy could believe this was the real Leozack -his lieutenant commander.

Oh... oh, what had become of his glorious superior?

Swallowing back the bitter sorrow lingering on the back of his glossa, the bigger Destron attempted to act as normal as possible, even as the other mech decided he had grown tired of Hellbat's silence and kicked the spy.

"And I bet you weren't even listening to a word I said! You big, stupid cog!," Leozack shouted. "I'm bored! I demand that you entertain me. NOW!"

"U-umm, yes. Of course," Hellbat grinned, his unease slightly put off at the moment as more of his superior's former personality shone through. That angry, demanding tone... Perfect. "M-maybe, eh... Oh! Let us go check out the rec room. I'm sure we can find some toys there."

Beaming like a fool now, the blue mech turned and began to skip off, oblivious to the insults the mini teal jet was screaming at his backstruts. Forced to be stuck with this idiot all day, Leozack grudgingly followed.

**xXxXx**

"And this is the rec room!" Opening the doors with a flourish, Hellbat merrily led them into the large room, turning to his charge with his optics glimmering in his joy. Dragged into a little impromptu tour along the way down the hall, the youngling walked into the common area with his arms crossed over his chestplates and his lip component jutted out in a fierce pout.

"I don't like this place," he grumbled, glancing around quickly, "It's dark and its boring. This whole place is dull."

The blue Destron's grin somewhat fell at that statement. "O-oh, but it isn't really," he tried to persuade. He hurried forward, pulling open seamless drawers that were built almost hidden into the walls along the room. "See, see! There's, um, some old games here that I think used to be Drillhorn's and a puzzle book Jallguar was playing with a couple orns ago..." The spy pulled out something long and ribbed, that he stared at blankly for a few astroseconds before promptly dropping it back inside the drawer. "...I don't know how that got in there, but," he continued, shutting the drawer, turning and smiling at Leozack again, "There's lots of stuff we can do."

"We? I don't want to do anything with you," the teal jet pouted more. "I hate this place...," he mumbled, turning his helm and staring at the floor. Hellbat almost whimpered in sympathy at the action; Leozack painted such a pained picture, the way he stood, postured and optics turned to the floor forlornly. He wanted to reach out and hug the little mech tight to his chestplates.

The spy had his servo half-raised to do just that before he quickly dropped it again.

This wasn't his Leozack. His Leozack would dislike being touched. Or being thought of as weak.

Folding his servos together nervously, Hellbat missed the way that the youngling looked up at him then, suspicious optics taking in the bigger mech's frame. "I s-suppose, we, um...," Hellbat mumbled uncertainly, torn in his feelings as he gazed at some crack in the floor beneath his pedes. "O-oh! You must be hungry! Would you care for some energon?"

The little jet looked practically shocked at the inquiry. Huffing in childish annoyance again, he propped his servos on his hips, twisting his helm in the other direction as he pouted. "Of course not! I don't want to eat any of your st-" The sound of gurgling fuel tanks interrupted the youngling. Shuttering his optics in surprise, Hellbat looked down upon the embarrassed Leozack, almost tempted to coo as he saw the youngling's cheekplates darken with a blush.

"I-i- That doesn't mean that I'm hungry!," Leozack stammered quickly, "I didn't make that sound, you did! You're trying to make fun of me!" Overwhelmingly flushed now, the teal mech turned about and bolted from the rec room, running as fast as his little legs would carry him.

Stunned, Hellbat only stared at the empty spot his miniaturized lieutenant commander had just vacated, before he realized Leozack was running away from him and into depths unknown in the space cruiser. "S-slag!," the spy whimpered as he hurried from the room, hoping to Primus that he was heading in the right direction. "L-lord Deathsaurus is going to O-OFFLINE me if I lose t-the lieutenant commander!"

**xXxXx**

This place was a giant, dark maze.

Leozack scrambled around another corner, pushing himself to go faster even as he gaped at the ridiculous length of the corridor he'd turned into. Ignoring the coolant burning in his optics, the youngling ran and ran, not knowing where he was going and not caring. He'd woken up in this strange, dark place, with big, weird mechs all around him, all talking unknown or scary things. He'd been confused at first, and still was a little, really, but now he was just mad and annoyed and... slaggit, he needed to get out!

These gloomy walls felt like they were pressing in on him from either side, and every corridor only led to a darker, danker hallway than the last. Where were the other 'bots? Where were the windows? He wanted to hear his neighbours talking, wanted to see the diamond-cast stretch of universe; needed to know that he was home, and safe, and surrounded by people. His people. He didn't want to have to do anything that giant mech said, and the same went for the weird blue one that was made his personal warden.

He didn't know this place and he didn't plan on staying either!

Intakes heaving, Leozack almost tripped as he took the next corner too fast, catching himself and coming to a pause; servos resting on his knee joints as he bent over and tried to expel some of the heat building up from his aching components. Over his humming circuits he could hear that weirdo calling out, searching for him. The very thought frightened the little jet again and Leozack jumped into a sprint, searching desperately for an exit -any kind of exit.

There!

The youngling skidded to a stop, slamming into the wall with a deafening clang, before he shook off his daze and bolted into the little room. It was an airlock chamber. He knew, because they had them back at the Fortress. Leozack had seen some of the bigger 'bots operate one during a field trip. An airlock chamber was as good an exit as any other one. Quickly, the teal mechling climbed up some pipe rigging poking out of the side of the wall, stretching out and reaching for the operation panel placed inside the chamber with him. It took all his focus to remember exactly what he'd seen the adults do, made even harder by the fact that he could hear his warden getting closer. His shouts for the youngling to not run away were very distinct right now.

The chamber light changed from a flat white to a deep red, just as the room filled with a quiet beeping, signaling that a pressure change was about to begin. Grinning, Leozack jumped back down to level ground, watching gleefully as the doors to the dark hallway closed, just as he saw Hellbat appear on the other side. But it was too late now. The blue mech wouldn't be able to reach him before the chamber doors opened on the other side, freeing the teal jet from his prison. Jittery with anticipation, Leozack watched as the door mechanism curled back and unlatched, a slow grind echoing as they started to pull apart.

Soon, the flat expanse of space would be his!

Black, cold water roared into the chamber at the thinnest gap, startling the youngling who leapt backwards, slamming into the wall behind himself. It swirled thickly around Leozack's pedes, filling up the chamber quicker than the jet could have expected. Shrieking in terror, for he did not know what this liquid was nor had he expected it to come crashing into the chamber so suddenly, Leozack attempted to scramble upwards, his neck cables craned in a desperate effort to keep his face above the water. But as soon as the chamber doors were finished opening all the way, the youngling was sucked out into the rest of the ocean by the current swirling into the airlock and back out again.

It was colder out here, scarier. Leozack struggled to move, but the freezing liquid flooded into the seams of his plating, filling his vents and water-logging his other components. Though fluids usually would pose no major threat, to a youngling who had not expected such a mass amount and wasn't able to seal his inner circuitry from its presence before he was surrounded by it, the freezing water would slowly stall or render various components and functions useless. With even longer time, the icy temperature could overwhelm his heating and spark-support systems, leading to eventual shutdown and the extinguishing of his spark.

He didn't want to die!

The jet tried to move, but found that already his limbs were locking, the salt water putting too much pressure on his joints and interrupting the electrical motion command his processor kept relaying to his frame's motor grid. Leozack sunk further away from the ship he had just been in, falling deeper and deeper into the dark, wet, frigid world that had now become his reality. He could sense motion all around, especially underneath him and it sent the youngling's spark into a terrified whirl, but there was nothing he could do. He was trapped. Sinking...

Already, his systems were activating emergency stasis protocol, re-routing power to try and keep his primary functions running. Unable to suppress the feeling of hopelessness screaming out from his spark, Leozack watched as the ship slowly became more and more obscured by the water's depths... until he could watch no more...

**xXxXx**

Emergency stasis activated...

Running status update...

_Running..._

_Running..._

Update Complete. Diagnosis: operational.

Activating start-up protocols.

_Rebooting..._

_Re-_

**xXxXx**

He was being carried. Slowly, Leozack onlined his optics, still feeling chilled to the piping. At first, he only noticed darkness and thought for a moment that he must still have been sinking into the ocean. But then the gloom started to pull back until the youngling could make out shapes and features again, and he realized he was being cradled in a net made up of warm, blue arms. Sluggishly, he craned his helm back, staring in confusion up at the one carrying him. Feeling his gaze, the other Destron glanced down, red optics dimming slightly in relieved kindness at the youngling.

"Lieutenant commander... you're awake. I'm glad."

The teal mechling said nothing (not that he could really. He must of shorted out his vocalizer), noticing then that the blue jet was wet just as he was. Had he rescued the youngling? Catching Leozack's stare, the spy smiled beneath his mask, clutching the small mech tighter to his chestplates. "Just relax," he said in that same gentle whisper, "Let your systems have a little more time to reboot before you try to do anything. Hellbat's got you in the meantime."

Leozack shuttered his optics slowly at the other mech's name. Hellbat... he thought tiredly, Hellbat had saved him. Even though he'd run away in the first place...

Overcome by exhaustion, the youngling rested his helm back on Hellbat's chestplates without a fuss, being rocked by the blue Destron's warmth and gentle gait into a peaceful recharge.


	2. Chapter 2

**C.M.D: When's the last time I updated this story? Much too long ago... Updates on this one may be a little more sporadic than consistent, but do note that I have plenty of ideas in mind for this fic, so it will eventually be finished. Maybe even this year! Enjoy the latest update in any case!**

After nearly drowning, Leozack system's required a much needed shutdown and proper recharge. He'd passed out twice -once in the freezing, inky wet darkness and a second time in his unwanted caretaker's arms- so when he finally arose for good, he was perplexed to find himself in a single unit, barely big enough to house the berth it contained. Shrugging off the thermal blanket covering him, the youngling sat up, studying his new environment intently.

"Oh, good! You're awake," announced a vocalizer directly beneath him.

Squeaking, Leozack threw himself towards the far side of the berth, watching as a blue helm slowly slid up from the other edge. "Sorry," Hellbat said, optics dimming contritely as he finished sitting up fully, "I didn't mean to scare you. How are you feeling?"

"D-did...," the smaller jet asked instead, ignoring the question, "Were you lying on the floor?"

"Hm?" Hellbat glanced down. "Oh, well, yeah I was. There was only so much space on the berth and I wanted to make sure your frame wasn't crowded. But I didn't want to leave you alone either, just in case I had to rush you to medbay should some sort of emergency come up."

"There's barely any space though," Leozack pointed out, pouting. "And you have wings!"

The older Destron shrugged, wriggling in the cramped space and rising to his pedes. "It's not a big deal..."

"It is!," the youngling interrupted. "My own hab suite is bigger than this! Why do you have such a tiny room? Did you do something bad? You must be a big loser to get such slag-ridden quarters."

"What? No!," Hellbat protested quickly, his vocalizer sharp and irate. "I never-" He paused, remembering just exactly who he was talking to and hurried to correct his inappropriate tone. "I mean," he continued to the glaring Leozack, "I'm a soldier. One of the best. I serve directly under Lord Deathsaurus, who was the giant mech that commanded I watch over you. These room arrangements are just... the misfortune of being away from the Fortress and having limited space."

"Anyways, let's get you something to eat," the rafale said, palming the door open. "You must be hungry by now."

Leozack scrambled up off the berth, leaping and bouncing from the room in a few, easy strides; swinging from Hellbat's right to his left and back again as they headed away from the larger Destron's room. "So that was THE Lord Deathsaurus? How am I to believe you? What proof do you have?," the teal mechling demanded, never stopping his moving. "For all I know you could be lying to convince me into being good!"

"I doubt even then you'd behave, lieutenant commander..."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Hellbat choked, waving dismissively at the bouncing tomcat. "I don't really have any proof to show you, unfortunately, but you should already know by now that we are on a strange planet, far away from the home you're used to. In fact... home, the Fortress, is... probably lost to us forever..."

The monotonous bouncing of an energetic youngling came to an abrupt halt as something crashed loudly behind the rafale, the clattering magnified in the corridor's echo. Whirling about in alarm, the spy was stunned to find Leozack staring up at him from his aft, optics glazing with coolant rapidly as the smaller Destron fought uselessly to keep them back.

"W-what," the mechling croaked softly, "What d-do you m-mean the F-Fortress i-is... go-gone...?"

Oh, slag. Wings hiking in panic, the blue mech tried to quickly think of something to say, while wringing his servos in growing desperation. "U-uh, well, y-you see!," he squeaked uncharacteristically. He vented in horror as Leozack's wings drooped suddenly, tears brimming along his optics thickly.

"D-don't cry!," Hellbat pleaded, dropping to his knees. "I'm s-sorry, really! I-i shouldn't have said that, I-"

"I-i want to go home!," the tomcat wailed suddenly, slapping away the other mech's servos. "You took me away from there! And now you're t-trying to ke-keep me away f-from it! Ta-take me back! Take m-me back now!"

Tears were splashing down Leozack's tiny cheekplates, his equally proportionate fans whining pitifully as his frame began to overheat because of poorly cycled intakes. Ignoring the minimal sting from wildly swinging servos, the blue Destron grabbed the youngling by the shoulders, forcing Leozack to his pedes and facing him. "Listen! Listen to me!," Hellbat almost begged. "Please...," he continued softly as the smaller jet quieted for a moment, staring at the rafale through swimming optics.

"I... I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that to you, but... but it's still true," the spy regretfully informed. "I..." I never expected you'd forget so much. "That was insensitive of me. The Fortress, our home, it's... i-it's not completely gone... But energon reserves are really low and there's almost no power left. A small number of the force, alongside Lord Deathsaurus, left to find more energon to help everyone left behind. And... that's where we are now... Fighting the Cybertronians, to try and save our home..."

It was amazing to watch those sharp, red optics -the ones that Hellbat secretly longed to stare into for cycles- quietly shed the last of their tears as the youngling absorbed everything that the large mech was sharing with him. It was also a great comfort to see calculative intelligence fill their depths again instead of fear and sorrow. Seeing so much emotion on the diminutive lieutenant commander was frightening! Not that the spy was going to tell anyone that...

"S-so...," Leozack started cautiously, taking his time to formulate his words. "I must have snuck aboard the shuttle Lord Deathsaurus and you others picked when playing with my centre-mates... and now I'm stuck here with you."

"Um..." The blue Destron had not been expecting that, but who was he to protest the strange, but convenient logic of his superior's infantile mind. "Yes! That seems to be so, which is why Lord Deathsaurus is so mad! B-but, no worries, I'll keep you safe and the others can work on getting energon without disruption!"

The mechling pouted again, crossing his arms over his chestplates, whole frame pushing up as he tried to appear bigger to the crouching Hellbat. Optics flared, trying to resist thinking about how cute the action was, the Destron opened his mouth to ask what had upset the tiny jet now when Leozack beat him to the punch. "Accident or not, I'm not useless! I want to help," he exclaimed, "I will help! And you'll help me!"

"Er... but..."

"And once I help Lord Deathsaurus get energon, we can all go back home," Leozack announced, nodding his helm like the fact was so simple, "And then I can go back to my hab suite, and the care centre and my friends, and grow up to be a soldier even better than you!"

Was there anything to even say to that?

Humming in feigned agreement, the spy rocked back up on his pedes, pulling his servo back at the last moment just before patting the shrunken Leozack. "Hungry?," he asked again, to distract himself from his near-missed slip-up.

Little tanks rumbled and the tomcat flushed in embarrassment, but unlike last time, he didn't run off or make random accusations. Instead, chin tucked in slightly, he answered, "Y-yes," adding in, "But it better not be watered down! I want some good energon!"

And then the teal youngling bounced off ahead, stopping every few strides to make sure Hellbat was following.

**xxXxXxx**

"...he _what?_"

Hellbat flinched at Drillhorn's raised vocalizer -so rare for the more level-headed breastforce member- and took a safe step back away from the medical berth. Leozack gave him a funny look, before returning to glaring at the purple mech. Drillhorn ignored the tomcat, still playing with the scanner's controls.

"You let him run around the deck... and then play with the air lock and send himself drowning out into the ocean," he continued, tone dropping to a smouldering, annoyed sound, "Even after Lord Deathsaurus told you specifically to watch him. Are you trying to kill him?"

"It was an accident!," the spy squeaked in protest, servos wringing guiltily. "I didn't just let him-"

"You shouldn't have let him run off in the first place," the drill tank cut in, scowling deeply, "Now I've got to spend time giving him medical treatment! I barely have enough equipment to handle you or the other idiots' injuries!"

"I'm perfectly fine," Leozack finally spoke up, lifting his olfactory sensor as he huffed arrogantly. The little jet even crossed one leg over the other, arms the same. "I would never be taken down by some inanimate fluid, so you don't have to waste your time."

Drillhorn glanced at the youngling flatly, not a single comment escaping him as the scanner hummed into activity. "Lay down," he ordered.

The mechling pouted. "No! I don't need your slagging scans!"

The purple Destron stared for an astrosecond longer, before he circled the berth in one easy step, grabbing Leozack by the helm and shoving the kicking tomcat back onto the berth; even going so far as to pull out the emergency straps and securing them around the youngling. "YOU FRAGGER! AFTWIPE! SCREWHEAD! I'LL KILL Y-"

"Sparklings should watch their mouths and not use crude language," the fill-in medic said, cutting off his diminutive lieutenant commander by smacking a medical clamp over his mouth. Leozack bucked and his vents huffed scarily similar to how Killbison's did when he was super pissed; large, young optics narrowed into tiny, evil slits.

"Um...," Hellbat piped up uncertainly, trying to keep out of Leozack's line of sight, "Are you sure that was wise?"

Drillhorn snorted, running the scanner up and down the youngling's frame. "You're afraid of a four-foot mechling? Pathetic."

"W-what? No!," the blue Destron grumbled, wings fluttering in annoyance, "I just... That seems unnecessary. I mean, all you're doing is making him mad."

"Sorry if I don't care what the little sparkling thinks of me," the other breastforce member replied, jotting some notes down on his datapad, before shutting down the scanner. "Alright, take him. He's fine, miraculously."

Hellbat sprung forward the moment he was granted permission, removing the straps and delicately pulling the mouth clamp off. "SLAG EATER!," Leozack shrieked as he shot up immediately, fans whirling up into a frenzy.

"N-now, now," the spy tried to soothe, "Drillhorn just wanted to make sure you were well! I mean, I know he's fairly crude and all, but he's really good at, uh... medic... stuff... and now we know you're really good, top to bottom, and there's nothing to fear!"

Teal wings were still shivering in rage, but Leozack slowly pried his death glare from Drillhorn's backstruts and turned to stare up at his unfortunate care-taker. "...perfectly well, huh? Nothing to fear?" Cycling his intakes in measured bursts, the youngling finally glanced away, arms crossed and pouting, but no longer stiff in the backstruts. "Fine," he said, to Hellbat's immense relief, "If doing all this slag means you'll stop worrying, I'll let screwhead's behaviour slide."

"Fantastic!"

Unseen to the blue mech, Drillhorn rolled his optical sensors, docking the notes from Leozack's medical examination into the main system, before turning to the pandering idiot already reeling off possible activities to the snotty mechling. "Hellbat," he called, gesturing for the surprised rafale to come over.

"Yes?," the other mech asked as he drew closer.

"Lord Deathsaurus wanted me to give this to you," the drill-tank informed dully. He pulled out a slim datapad, no bigger than his servo, and handed it to the perplexed jet. "It's come to his attention that your current quarters aren't efficient for your new role."

"W...w-wait," Hellbat squeaked, reading through the dragon-former's notice quickly, "You can't m-mean- I-i- No! I can't!" He stuttered and stumbled over his words, optics flared in growing horror, plating beginning to clack anxiously and knees ready to buckle. "Not this-"

"You are and you will," Drillhorn pushed, cutting off the idiot's whimpering, "Lord Deathsaurus put him," a thumb jerked thoughtlessly towards the curious Leozack, "Under your care- and that means you are responsible for EVERYTHING. Just be thankful you get to use some of the biggest quarters on ship for your babysitting."

Hellbat could only silently weep as his comrade turned and walked away, leaving him in the medbay with a bouncing youngling, throwing demanding questions at him non-stop. A bigger hab suite would have definitely been nice... but it was _Leozack's_ that they were ordering him to inhabit.

**C.M.D: Expect more chapters of silly shenanigans~  
****Be kind; give me your mind~ REVIEW, please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**C.M.D: It's been a while since I've uploaded last (feels like months honestly) but I'm not getting any less busier. So, I'm super glad that I have at least gotten a few chapters done this month for your reading pleasure. With any luck, I may have an update or two for next month as well. Anyways, I won't drone on anymore -please enjoy!**

It was just a door.

Thirty by forty feet of metal, with a strip of glowing light to show that it was occupied and active.

"Well? Are you gonna open it or what?!"

Except that it wasn't occupied currently, because the mech who owned it was standing beside the rafale -transformed accidentally into a youngling, with no recollection of his prior life. Hellbat vented heavily, wings drooping, ignoring the teal jet trying to meet his optics.

"Hey!," Leozack scowled, stomping his pedes, "Are you listening to me? You better not be ignoring me again!"

"No, no...," the larger Destron said, glancing at the youngling. He tried to smile but realized it couldn't be seen through his mask. "Anyways, not ignoring, no... I'm just, uh..."

"Stalling?," the little jet pouted. "Yeah, I noticed. What's the big deal? It's a room!"

_'It's your room,'_ Hellbat thought to say, but refrained. That would be too messy of a conversation to attempt. "It's not quite 'just a room', it's...," he trailed off, not knowing how to finish. "Anyway, why don't we go play?"

Leozack gave the blue Destron a scathing look, crossing his arms over his chestplates. "No way! I want to check out the new room, and if you're going to be a big, dumb chicken, I'll open the door!" Shoving past the rafale, Leozack gave a short jump and smacked the keypad console; the door giving a beep at the contact, sliding the metal to the side.

Hellbat was ashamed to admit that his fans were beginning to whirl in a panic the moment he could see into the lieutenant commander's room; fear and excitement warring within him, while his paranoid processor pondered as to why Leozack didn't have a pass-lock set on his door. It took the soft, scoffing "pathetic" to drag the larger jet from his thoughts, glancing down as the tomcat strutted inside their temporary quarters.

Anxious still, Hellbat followed after slowly.

"Woah," the youngling gasped, spinning around ecstatically in the large, open space, "This room is fantastic!"

And it was, the spy noted. Under perfectly set floor and ceiling lights, every space of the berthroom was lit with gentle, lavender light; glittering like spark-mites against edges of immaculately-clean metal. There was a large desk and combination terminal taking up two-thirds of the left wall, leftover plans not yet tidied away littered across its available surface, as rectangular holes in the walls provided shelf space for sorted datapads.

Aside from that, there was only the berth; positioned against the right wall, free of any dings and scrapes, and even its thermal blanket folded neatly on top. It was a regal room, deserving of his lieutenant commander, Hellbat thought, staring in awe. What would Leozack say if he- The rafale's train of thought came to a nasty crash as he realized that the teal jet would not be surprising him any time soon, in his usual vicious uproar.

Instead, Leozack was represented by the youngling jumping about, touching everything with glee, unaware that these were actually his quarters. Sighing again, frame hunching over a bit with the action, Hellbat wandered around the room, his depressed processor cranking away.

"... what's your problem?," came a small vocalizer.

Looking to his left, the blue Destron was not surprised to see his charge looking up at him; optics bright and curious, while his mouth was pulled into a sour pout. "Nothing," the spy answered, smiling. Leozack's optics narrowed further. "Anyways, we've seen the room now. Ready to do something else?"

The youngling crossed his arms over his chestplates. "Why do you want to leave so quickly? I still haven't gone through the drawers and closets!"

_'And that's for the best,'_ Hellbat told himself silently. "Listen, we really should..."

The bigger jet trailed off as suddenly a light bulb went off overhead, genius striking the frazzled mech. "You can explore all you'd like tonight, after I leave, but for now I want to show you the rest of the ship before dinner. Come- you'll have fun!"

Hellbat was already backing towards the door, waving for the tomcat to follow him, but the youngling only stared in abject horror. "W-what... what do you mean 'when you leave me'?," Leozack stuttered, coolant welling in his optics as his expression turned ferocious; fists shaking at his side and a pede stomping on the ground hard. "You're my guardian! You can't go until I say so!"

"Um, but...," the rafale weakly tried to say.

The protest, even pathetic, was enough to make the youngling tip his helm back and screech angrily to the ceiling above. "YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF ME AND ENTERTAIN ME AND IF YOU DON'T I'LL DO SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE AND, AND, AND YOU'LL BE VERY SORRY!"

"O-okay! Okay!," Hellbat shouted back, quickly rushing over, servos hovering over Leozack -half tempted to shake the smaller Destron but the other half of him not wanting to hurt the lieutenant commander. "I-i'm sorry, please! You're right, you're right! I won't go anywhere! I vow I'll stay as long as you want!"

At the spy's promise, Leozack immediately changed, from screaming out angrily to smiling smugly; standing casually and wings fluttering intermittently in ease. "Alright! Now, you mentioned about showing me around more? Let's do it!," the teal jet chirped, heading for the door. "I want to see everything interesting this dark, smelly ship's got before I eat! And I'm gonna be hungry soon, so move it!"

Venting heavily, Hellbat didn't even bother to comment snidely about the youngling's manipulations, instead heading after the tiny Destron reluctantly, hoping that the rest of the orn would be much quieter.

**xxXxXxx**

After everything was said and done, it had been a long and exhausting orn, so it should of been no surprise to see a weary Hellbat walking down the hall; pedes dragging, wings almost dropping off and a recharging youngling in his arms. Leozack had put up a valiant fight... but all the activity he'd put himself through in the last twenty cycles had done their number on the once-resilient lieutenant commander.

Withholding a sigh, Hellbat shuffled down the dark, dank halls of the Destron ship, guided by violet lights along the ceiling and floor. Unlike where he took refuge, these areas of the ship were brightly lit, meant to provide extreme comfort for the high-ranking officers who would fill its quarters. Hellbat truly did not like being in this area, considering everyone's animosity towards him, but he'd already proven his little hole of a room was unsuited to care for both Leozack and himself.

No, the rafale had no choice but to concede to his Emperor's demands and use the lieutenant commander's quarters. Coming up to his said door, the spy was glad that there was no one around to watch him stare at the glowing metal for nearly several kliks, fans whirling in sluggish, tired and anxious bursts.

"Stupid...," he chastised himself. A weary smile blossomed under his mask, Hellbat reminded of Leozack saying the same thing a few cycles earlier. It immediately fell as the rafale remembered he wasn't the real Leozack though- not the tomcat that he knew and secretly adored. Punching in the door's new code, Hellbat quickly shuffled inside, gently lying the youngling down on the berth and covering him in a plush, thermal blanket.

His first thought was to leave then and there. Leozack would be fine, he was deep in recharge and there was no threat of Cybertronian attack so deep under water and away from their detections. But those tears... Hellbat's tanks churned uncomfortably. He wasn't accustomed to handling emotion from other 'bots with the exception of the ever abundant greediness, rage, irritation and calculative disregard for others. Crying, fear, begging- from a comrade! A youngling! Sincere and honest in all its forms...

Hellbat didn't like that. Many considered him without a code, and it was true of nearly every aspect of the rafale, but sparklings... He'd never done anything intentionally to hurt a sparkling or youngling, never frightened them or used them as bait in a torturous scheme. He wasn't capable of that; sparklings were not warriors, they didn't deserve that. Leozack was no longer Leozack, but he was a youngling and Hellbat was twisted up inside. Twice in one whole active cycle, he'd made the poor tomcat cry. If he left, come the next morning Leozack would wake to find himself alone, in what he deemed a strange and cold place.

There'd be anger, Hellbat was certain, but what he worried about now is how much he'd make the little jet cry before he came to collect him. Leozack shifted slightly in his sleep as the spy silently deliberated, provoking Hellbat to secure the blanket around the youngling; one servo raised above the teal helm hesitantly.

After a moment, the blue Destron withdrew his servo; venting in defeat. He would stay, find a corner comfortable enough to park himself for the rest of the orn. This new Leozack was his responsibility; no one else would give the youngling the care and consideration he needed. A short smile making itself known, Hellbat gently stroked the flared helm fins, getting up and shuffling into the darkest corner available in the large room. It took several kliks of watching Leozack recharging easily on the berth across the room, before the rafale finally succumbed as well.

**xxXxXxx**

"This place is boring!"

A clang rang through the rec room as Leozack kicked the table, glowering heatedly at the steel grey top. Hellbat, having looked up from their game of _Conquer_ at the outburst, wondered idly if the youngling had hurt himself with the kick. Judging by how tightly he was biting down on his bottom lip component, the spy was leaning towards yes.

"Well, it is a War ship," Hellbat said, moving one of the pieces and conquering several of Leozack's territories. The 'Duh' was quite obnoxiously loud in his tone. Shaking angrily, the tomcat swept his servos chaotically across the board; scattering all the victory flags Hellbat had already set up, and even the ones he'd been in the middle of placing, sending them flying off in a hundred, different directions.

Venting in frustration, the blue Destron dropped the flag he still possessed, looking at the youngling again. "Alright, since you are obviously done with this game... what would you like to do now?"

"Anything but this!," the mechling snapped back. "You should know something better to do- it's your job to entertain me!"

Hellbat wanted desperately to protest against that, but that was, in fact, his current predicament. It's not like shadowing a shrunken version of his lieutenant commander (who wasn't really his Leozack) was a joy to the rafale himself. But orders were orders. Secretly, Hellbat wished for Leozack to return to normal. For now though, the blue Destron was trapped with babysitting this unknown youngling, with his superior's face, and finding ways to entertain the ever-tempermental tomcat.

"Well, we could play some other games... I think there's a couple stored about the ship... Or we could make something in the labs, watch security vids of the ocean outside the ship; slag, we could even hijack some Earth broadcasts! Just gotta make sure we wipe the registry afterwards or Drillhorn will have our necks..."

As Hellbat rambled thoughtfully to the various tasks even remotely available on board, Leozack was stewing in frustration, until he sprang onto his pedes, smacking the table top. "Take me topside!," he demanded, pink optics starting the older Destron down.

Amazed, Hellbat could only stare idly at the fuming tomcat, before shaking his helm. "I can't. You're too-"

"I want out!," Leozack yelled, interrupting the spy, "I want to fly! I want to see the planet we're on! I don't want to be caged inside with boring, smelly you!"

Hellbat groaned loudly, sinking his face into his servo. "Leozack, I know," he replied, "But you can't go topside. This planet thinks we're evil and they're out to kill or capture us; same with the Cybertronians, who are our actual enemies."

Leozack, who had been surprisingly calm and quiet while Hellbat said his piece, spoke now, glaring even more. "That's stupid! I've done nothing bad; I'm not even big enough to punch someone like you. They have no reason to hurt me!"

The blue Destron refrained from rubbing his servos over his face in exasperation- just barely. "Leozack...," he whined, unknowing of what to say to convince the youngling of the peril he could land in and desperate to make himself heard.

The tomcat sulked, sitting back down and glaring at the table top for a few long, kliks. Beginning to feel perturbed by the deep stare, the spy fidgeted, scrambling his processor for a subject, idea, game- anything! Before he'd even had the chance to open his mouth though, there was a neutral "Turbofox" that broke Hellbat from his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what?," he said dumbly.

Leozack grumbled but repeated. "Turbofox," he explained, grumbling again at the owlish look he received, "You know? One 'bot is the turbofox and he hunts down the other players before they get him first."

It had been a long time since Hellbat had been involved with any sparkling activities, but that sounded vaguely familiar to the Earth children's game of Manhunt. The rafale really needed to stop hacking into Jan's online activity for intel... Jumping on the offered distraction, Hellbat leaned across the table, practically beaming. "Okay! Now that we're decided, let's-"

A finger tapped loudly at his mouthguard, right about where the tip of his nose would be. Surprised, the blue Destron blinked, optical sensors almost going cross-eyed. "You're the turbofox!," Leozack smugly declared, before jumping down from the table and running from the room.

Realizing what had just taken place, Hellbat hurried to his own pedes, hoping to catch up with the youngling before he got himself into more trouble.


End file.
